A Park Mark is given to car parks that have low crime, been vetted by police and have a certain standard of surveillance, lighting, signage and cleanliness.

The scheme can be used by drivers to find car parks where they can confidently leave their vehicle and know it will be safe.

Kelvin Reynolds, director of policy and public affairs at the BPA and head of the Safer Parking Scheme, said: "When we [Park Mark] launched in 2004, vehicle related crime accounted for around 20 per cent of all crime in England and Wales.

"Once introduced, some car parks saw a drop in incidents by over 80 per cent in the first year and as more car parks joined the scheme vehicle related crime halved."

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The scheme also highlights many of the train station car parks as safe places.

Reading Station's underground parking in Blagrave Street and the spaces at Theale and Tilehurst Stations are all holders of the Park Mark.

97

Safe parking spaces in Reading per 1,000 cars

50

Safe parking spaces in Reading per 1,000 cars

The 14 car parks in Reading that have met these standards means there are an impressive 6,274 car parking spaces available in the town accredited by Park Mark.

Even with the approximate 65,000 cars that are registered in the town, that leaves Reading with one of the highest rates of safe parking spaces in the whole of the UK with 97 safe spaces per 1,000 cars.

That’s much higher than the UK average, which sees just 50 safe car parking spaces per 1,000 cars.